Selena Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
by Tdumble
Summary: What if Harry wasn't an only child? Selena is the twin sister of Harry Potter. How will Selena deal with being separated from her muggle best friend and Harry's new wild popularity? Will Hogwarts become her home as it will Harry's? How will life change for the Potter twins? PS. Summary writing, somehow, is more difficult than it looks.
1. The Vanishing Glass

**AN: My first ever uploaded fanfic. Ah! So I noticed that there are a myriad of Harry's twin sister fics out there and it got me thinking. So, this is my spin on the idea. I'm starting off with the Philosopher's Stone and going from there. Please try to keep any criticism constructive and I would appreciate any positive thoughts, so feel free to leave those. Also suggestions, those would be great.**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does. Should I claim ownership of my OC. People seem to do that a lot. Yeah, I made her up. Liza too._

Nearly ten years had passed since the fateful night of You-know-who's demise. And for those years Harry and Selena Potter spent their days doing endless chores for the Dursleys and their nights under the stairs of Number 4 Privet Drive. The first sound of the morning for the both of them was the shrill voice of Aunt Petunia.

"Up! Get up! Now!"

Harry jolted upward and Selena slowly rose wiping the sleep from her eyes. The twins looked at each other groggily. Mrs. Dursley rapped on the door again. "Up!" She squawked like a laryngitic parakeet. The sound of the stove starting roused Selena further. Harry rolled on his back and stared at the ceiling. "Are you two up yet?" She harped.

"Nearly," Harry replied before Selena could say anything.

"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."

Harry groaned and Selena threw her face in her hands.

"What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door

"Nothing, nothing..." Harry mumbled. This time Selena groaned. Her brother had next to no tact. She wondered if he would ever survive this household without her.

Selena stumbled out from the cupboard under the stairs. Mornings were not her forte. She always woke from her Aunt's shrieking, the thundering footsteps of her Uncle, or Harry shaking her before either of the former had the chance. Out in the kitchen she couldn't see any inkling of the table. It was thoroughly coated in Dudley's birthday presents. Vernon and Petunia had gone all out for Diddydums. She could see the computer, a _second_ television, and oddly enough a racing bike. Dudley was the size of a small Beluga Whale. Selena doubted that he could balance long enough to take off.

Much like her brother, Harry, Selena was forced to wear Dudley's hand-me-downs. Where they simply made him look thinner and knobbier than he was, she looked like every day was a sick day. This was especially a pain because Selena loved fashion and she had quite a distinct sense of it. The only outfits she owned were birthday presents from her best friend Liza Garcia. She also lived on Privet Drive. Selena befriended her a month into primary school. Even though she loved Liza dearly and yearned to be away from the Dursleys, she still dedicated much of her time to Harry. She couldn't just leave him alone with them. He would die of boredom.

Her brother, Harry, had messy dark hair, bright green eyes, and strange little scar on his forehead from the car crash that killed their parents. His glasses were held together by scotch tape thanks to Dudley's bullying. Hers were less round than his and also held together by tape, fortunately for her Dudley followed a certain code of chivalry that prevented him from hitting girls. The tape around her glasses was a result of her butterfingers-itis. She didn't look at all similar to Harry. Freckles speckled her nose and the tops of her cheeks. Orange hair fell to her shoulders and her eyes were a deep chocolate brown. She was almost certain that Dudley didn't even know that they were twins. He wasn't all that observant.

Harry was tending to the bacon and Selena was pouring glasses of juice and making Uncle Vernon's coffee.

"Comb your hair!" He barked at Harry as a form of morning greeting. "Girl," He snapped at her, "Coffee!"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," She obeyed bringing over his steaming bean juice. He slurped a large sip from the hot beverage wetting his thick Stalin-like mustache.

Harry was frying eggs when Petunia and her cousin walked in. Dudley looked much like his father- watery blue eyes, large peach cheeks, and a nearly absent neck, with thick blond hair that to Selena looked very much like a toupee. Harry once confided in her that he thought Dudley looked like a pig in a wig. Liza mused that he was the long-lost love child of Donald Trump and Miss Piggy. She oinked to Selena whenever she spotted the chunky boy. She'd have thought it a little too mean, if her cousin didn't deserve it.

When Dudley finished the oh so difficult task of adding up his gifts his face fell. "Thirty-six? That's two less than last year."

"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mummy and Daddy."

"All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry began swallowing pieces of bacon whole sensing a Dudley tantrum. Selena silently started making her way towards the edge of the room.

Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right"

Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty... thirty..."

"Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.

"Oh." Dudley sat down with a thump so heavy that the chair shook beneath him and greedily snatched up the nearest parcel. "All right then."

Uncle Vernon laughed, "Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He mussed Dudley's fair hair.

The telephone rang and her Aunt excused herself to answer. Dudley without a thought concerning his mother and continued digging into presents. Selena watched unamused alongside her brother and uncle.

"Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take them." She nodded her head in the twin's direction.

Dudley gaped horrified. Harry looked like Christmas had come early. While she didn't mind Mrs. Figg and her cat stories, Harry loathed them. She felt a ping of sadness for Mrs. Figg.

"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.

"Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates them."

"What about what's-her-name, your friend - Yvonne?"

"On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia. She turned to Selena, "What about your little friend?"

"Liza? She's on a cruise around the Virgin Islands." Liza had sent her a post card from St. Thomas. Dudley ripped it up, before she could read it. She had to piece it back together like a puzzle in order to get Liza Garcia's message.

"You could just leave us here," Harry added. For just the tone of his voice she knew what he was getting at. If they were alone they could have the TV all to themselves. _How glorious that would be_ , Selena reminisced.

Aunt Petunia pursed her lips like she had just inhaled the lemon from her restaurant water.

"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.

"I won't blow up the house," said Harry.

"He won't. I'll watch him. When have I done anything destructive?" Selena added but they weren't listening.

"I suppose we could take them to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "... and leave them in the car..."

"That car's new, they're not sitting in it alone..." Selena's eyes were growing tired from rolling them so much.

And then… the tears came. Dudley began to produce faux tears. Despite his lack of talent, he was quite the little actor. Her eyes couldn't handle the stress.

"Dinky Duddydums, don't cry, Mummy won't let them spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.

"I... don't... want... them... t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "they always sp-spoil everything!" He shot them a smug smile through the space between his mother's gangly arms.

And just when Selena thought the melodrama couldn't get any worse, Piers Polkiss and his mother arrived. "Dios Mio," Selena sighed aloud. She caught the exclamation from her time spent with the Garcias. Along with many Spanglish colloquialisms.

"Don't you be speaking foreign filth in this household!" Uncle Vernon chastised.

"It's Spanish," She crossed her arms across her chest. "I was just repeating Aunt Petunia." He narrowed his eyes, obviously not quite believing her.

A half an hour later she was squished in the back of the Dursley's car with Harry, Piers, and Dudley. She and Harry were forced to share the skinny middle seat, but it bothered neither of them. After all, they did share a cupboard.

As soon as they exited the cramped car Uncle Vernon began threatening the both of them, which killed Selena's excitement. This was the first time she or Harry would be visiting the zoo. After seeing animals in only pictures from Liza's family zoo trips, she would finally see them in person. She loved animals. Every time in school they had to get a choice read book from the library, she bought one on animals. Sometimes they were devoted to a specific species, others were based on geography.

The Dursleys never believed Harry or Selena that they wouldn't get in trouble. The strangest things were always happening around the both of them and it was completely unintentional.

One time when a girl made fun of the tight pigtails Aunt Petunia forced her to wear, the girl instantly became completely bald. A boy made fun of her bushy eyebrows and suddenly he grew a unibrow. A different girl made fun of Liza's Spanglish and Selena glared at her. When the teacher called on her to answer a question she only answered in Gibberish. Her parent's might have called an exorcist.

There was also the time when both she and Harry ended up on the roof of the house after being chased around by Dudley and his gang. There was no explanation. It defied all principles of logic. Aunt Petunia had shrieked at them so shrilly that she had laryngitis for nearly all the next week.

During the car ride Uncle Vernon fired off his litany of his complaints. Some of his favorite subjects were Harry, the council, Selena, the bank, Harry, young people, Selena, Harry. This morning he seemed particularly inclined towards motorcycles. She liked motorcycles, Liza's American cousin Tony had a fancy Harley Davidson. It was displayed perfectly in Liza's Vacation Scrapbook.

"... roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them.

"I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, suddenly. "It was flying." Selena stared at Harry, wide-eyed. He winced at her realizing the grave mistake he just made. Uncle Vernon hated anything imaginative. Which explained his general distaste for Mrs. Garcia, seeing as she was an artist.

Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a cellulite ridden tomato with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"

Dudley and Piers giggled like little girls.

"I know they don't," said Harry, meekly. "It was only a dream."

The sun was bright and strong that day and the zoo was packed with cheery families. The Dursleys bought large ice creams for Dudley and Piers. The Van Lady asked Selena and Harry what she wanted before the Dursleys could protest. They both got the cheapest thing on the menu.

Harry and Selena walked a small distance from the Dursleys and Piers, so not to "embarrass" them. They ran around looking at the animals much longer than Dudley and Piers. Their Aunt would hiss at them to keep going. Selena was overjoyed. All of the animals were so beautiful and real. When she looked in their eyes she felt connected to them. She just wanted to reach out and touch them.

They ate in the zoo restaurant. She and Harry shared Dudley's reject ice cream. Everything was going so well and then Harry harried the situation.

After lunch, they visited the reptile house. Selena broke off from the group who only had interest in the "manly" animals. She still made sure to check back to see if they left. Suddenly something caught her eye. A man was standing with a big, hairy spider walking across his hand. Her feet carried her quickly. She wanted a closer look. When she arrived in front of the man, he smiled brightly. "Would you like to hold this beauty?" Selena nodded hesitantly. He nudged it onto her hand. It's many appendages tickled the back of her right hand. "She's a tarantula. Her name's Hecate." She held the creature up closer to her face. The spider moved some of her legs closer to her face. "Wow, I think she likes you!" He removed Hecate from her hold. The worker stuck a sticker to her shirt that read, 'I held a tarantula.' She was excited to show Liza.

Then her happiness dissolved at the sound of screaming. "Oh. Oh no."

Harry was sitting on the ground being death stared at by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. The glass to the boa constrictor exhibit was completely gone.

At home, they sent Harry straight to the cupboard without any meals. Selena stood awkwardly in the living room. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't steal food from the fridge for Harry until later. "I held a tarantula today," She stated awkwardly before retiring to the cupboard.

Sitting on the bed with Harry, she remembered how hard he had it. No one was friends with Harry Potter because Dudley and his gang hated Harry Potter. Liza simply did not care what Dudley's gang did. It must have been hard not having a Liza. She grabbed Harry's hand in hers. "When is our long-lost Uncle from New Brunswick going to whisk us away from this awful place?" She mused.

"What makes you so sure he's from New Brunswick?"

She shrugged, "Intuition."


	2. Letters from no one

**AN: Oh look, another one. Someone call DJ Khaled. Don't expect this to become a regular thing. Thank you so very much to Mia Tia for the review. Okay, so I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

 _Disclaimer: Lol, I wish. I do not own Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling does._

Letters from no one

The zoo incident had earned Harry the longest punishment the Dursley's had ever administered. He was confined to the cupboard well into the first week of summer. Dudley had already ruined half of his presents.

Dudley and his gang had begun their annual Harry hunting for the year. Liza's porch had a perfect view of this sport. Selena invited Harry to spend time with them any time that she could, but Harry wasn't interested in the feminine activities the girls spent their time on. She wanted to spend as much time with Liza as possible. She was going a girls only private school. Selena and Harry would be attending Stonewall High, the local public school. The only positive to the situation was that Dudley had been accepted to Smeltings, Uncle Vernon's old secondary school.

On the day, in July, that Aunt Petunia took Dudley to get his Smeltings uniform, Selena accompanied Liza on a similar shopping trip. During this time, Harry was alone at Mrs. Figgs. Arbor's Academy for girls had the cutest uniform of the private schools, a forest green blazer and plaid, pleated skirt. The color looked excellent against Liza's tanned skin and light hair. Mrs. Garcia even let her buy Selena a little green hairpin.

That night, back at the Dursley's, Dudley paraded around the room in his Smeltings attire. He looked like a beach ball dressed as a circus ring leader with a maroon tailcoat, orange knickerbockers, a boater hat, and a knobbly cane. At the sight, Uncle Vernon gruffly declared that it was the proudest moment of his life and Aunt Petunia began to weep. Selena bit down on her tongue trying not to laugh. She could tell Harry was doing the same.

When the twins woke the air stunk. Selena sneezed a few times. Aunt Petunia was tending to a metal tub sitting in the sink. "What's this?" Asked Harry gesturing to the bin. Their Aunt's lips pursed as though she had just tasted something bitter.

"Your new school uniforms."

Selena slow blinked at her.

"Oh," Harry said, "I didn't realize they'd be so wet." Selena snorted.

"Don't be stupid," Mrs. Dursley snapped. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished."

"Aunt Petunia," Selena started hesitantly, "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm a girl."

"Of course I've noticed," She scoffed, "I have one of your old skirts in here."

Selena seriously doubted that she'd look like everyone else. She tried to imagine what she'd look like, trying to piece together ways that it wouldn't look so awful. Most likely she'd be laughed at for it. At least Harry would share her suffering at Stonewall.

Dudley and Uncle Vernon entered for breakfast. Dudley kept banging his Smeltings stick on the table. Selena imagined hitting him in the shins with the Smeltings stick.

They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat.

"Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.

"Make Harry get it."

"Get the mail, Harry."

"Make Dudley get it."

"Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley."

Harry dodged Dudley's swing and went off to get the mail. Selena sat down at the table and nibbled on a piece of toast. Every time Harry went to get the mail, she sat awkwardly with the Dursleys not saying a word.

He was taking a while. "Hurry up, boy!" Uncle Vernon hollered. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke. Selena groaned internally.

Harry returned and handed Uncle Vernon the letters, but out of the corner of her eye, Selena noticed that Harry was holding two manila letters in his hands still. She nodded towards him to ask why. He placed a finger over his mouth. Their Uncle and Aunt hadn't noticed because they were busy prattling on about trivialities.

But then Dudley spotted them, "Dad! Dad, Harry's got something!"

Harry tossed an envelope to Selena, but before she could even glance at it Dudley ripped it out of her hands. Uncle Vernon had confiscated Harry's. "Hey!" She yelled in surprise.

"That's mine!" Harry said, trying to grab it back. Dudley delivered hers to Mr. Dursley.

He unfolded Harry's letter and as his eyes trailed across the paper he went from beet red to pale as a ghost.

"P-P-Petunia!" he gasped.

Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it hastily and read the first line. For a moment, it looked as though she might fall over. She choked.

"Vernon! Oh my goodness - Vernon!"

They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that the children were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He patted his father on the crown with his Smeltings stick.

"I want to read that letter," he whined loudly.

"I want to read it!" Harry exclaimed vehemently, "Seeing as it's mine."

Uncle Vernon yelled for them to get out and Selena followed his order. She would just listen from outside the door. Harry and Dudley soon arrived after her Uncle threw them out by their shirt collars. Unfortunately, the two of them had the same idea as her. Dudley listened through the keyhole and Harry on the floor. "Amateurs," She muttered. She downed the rest of the juice from her breakfast cup and leaned it against the door.

"Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying voice shaking, "look at the address - how could they possibly know where they sleep? You don't think they're watching the house?"

"Watching - spying - might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.

"But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want-"

"No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer... Yes, that's best... we won't do anything..."

"But-"

"I'm not having one in the house, let alone two, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took them in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"

Later that day, Uncle Vernon paid their little cupboard a visit. Selena was shocked. This was a first.

"Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. Selena buried her face in her hands. Harry had absolutely no idea how to work Uncle Vernon. "Who's writing to me?"

"No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon curtly. "I have burned it." _Mierda_ , she sighed in her head. Selena had hoped to nick it from the kitchen later. If he ripped it up she could have puzzled it back together.

"It was not a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had our cupboard on it."

"SILENCE!" Uncle Vernon bellowed. Selena's heart thumped in her chest. Her Uncle's expression took such a sharp turn that she felt motion sickness settle in. A rather forced smile spread across his face. "Well-urm, about the cupboard- Harry, Selena- Your Aunt and I have been thinking… the two of you have really gotten a bit big for it… we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom."

"What?" Selena asked excitedly at the same time Harry said, "Why?"

"Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now."

Harry and Selena grabbed their things hurriedly and ran up the stairs. Inside Dudley's second bedroom were all of his broken presents. "Harry!" Selena turned toward him excitedly.

"What?" He asked, startled at her vocal volume. Selena was usually very quiet.

"We have our own room!" She jumped up and down. "We have a room, Harry!"

The twins plopped down on the bed, Dudley's temper tantrum playing as their background music. "I wish we had that letter…" Harry sighed.

"Yeah, but Harry…" She turned her head towards his, grinning, "We have a room."

The next morning, they ate breakfast in silence. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia shared dark glances. When the mail came, Uncle Vernon made Dudley get it. He shouted from the hall, "There's another one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive - '"

Uncle Vernon made some sort of choking noise. Uncle Vernon had to tackle Dudley in order to get it from him. Harry grabbed Uncle Vernon in a choke hold. She and Aunt Petunia looked at each other dawning shocked expressions. Dudley flung his Smeltings stick wildy effectively smacking Selena's glasses off of her face. She dropped to hands and knees and pawed at the ground trying to find them. She felt awfully like Velma from Scooby Doo.

When she finally got her glasses back on her face Uncle Vernon was standing, panting frantically. "Go to your cupboard - I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed. "Dudley - go - just go."

The next morning Harry's alarm clock went off at six in the morning. This action was against Selena's wishes. Clearly the Dursleys were horrified by the thought of either of them getting a hold of any of these mystery letters. She wagered that Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia would be prepared. Harry was already determined.

"AAAAARRRGH!"

"I knew it!" She whispered to herself. Selena ran down the hall and the stairs. She discovered her brother looking down at her Uncle rolled up in sleeping back looking like an overstuffed burrito. Then came the yelling. It lasted the good part of the next hour until he ordered Harry to make him a cup of tea.

Uncle Vernon began to shred both of their letters while sitting on his recliner.

Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot. "See," he explained to Aunt Petunia nails dangling from his mouth, "if they can't deliver them they'll just give up."

"I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon."

"Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me," said Uncle Vernon, distractedly hammering away with the piece of fruitcake her Aunt made for him.

Over the next few days things had gotten out of hand. Letters were showing up everywhere. They'd been packed outside the doors like a blizzard had come. Aunt Petunia pureed all the letters in the blender.

On Sunday Uncle Vernon was euphoric. He excitedly mutter about there being no post on Sundays. "No letters today— "

Then, something shot down the chimney, and then another something, another, and another. The next thing Selena knew the chimney was projectile vomiting mail. Harry was leaping in the air trying to catch one. She hurriedly snatched one from the ground and bolted out the door. She could hear Aunt Petunia's heels clicking down the hall after her but she didn't care. Selena shoved it down her shirt and ran out the door. Once on the law she frantically ripped open the letter. She had been fortunate enough to grab one addressed to her. _"Miss Potter, you have been accepted— "_

Her Aunt wrestled the paper out of her hands. During this tug of war Selena shouted wildly, "NO! Mine! Mine!" Mrs. Dursley managed to snatch it up and rip it up beyond recognition and then stamped on it for good measure.

Aunt Petunia gripped her arm with more strength than Selena thought the woman had, and dragged her back into the house. When Uncle Vernon spotted them, he spoke voice shaking with ire, "That does it. I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments."

His expression was so savage that no one dared go against his wishes. Ten minutes later they were speeding towards the high way to an unknown location. Dudley was crying because he hadn't been able to bring his TV or computer.

They drove for hours upon hours in complete silence. Aunt Petunia was staring out the window eyes wide and rimmed with darkness. Uncle Vernon was going mad. He would jerk the car in the opposite direction, muttering, "Shake 'em off… Shake 'em off."

They never once stopped the car. Selena had had to pee for a few hours. Dudley was howling. He had never had a day quite like this one. He was hungry. He'd missed all of his regular TV programming.

Finally, Uncle Vernon stopped at a rather eerie looking hotel. She and Harry shared a room with twin beds with dusty, musky smelling sheets. She'd gone straight to bed, but Harry sat on the window sill staring out at the night sky.

In the morning at breakfast, which consisted of stale cereal and cold canned tomatoes on burnt toast, a member of the hotel staff informed them of some letters that had come that morning. The address had changed to their hotel room. Uncle Vernon snatched the letter and told the woman, "I'll take them." He followed her out the dining hall.

Hours later Aunt Petunia suggested that they return home. But, Uncle Vernon paid it no mind. He drove them first to a forest, got out, shook his head, and got back in. This happened again many times at equally strange locations.

"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia sullenly that day midafternoon. Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared.

Fat drops of rain splattered on the car windows. Selena felt the urge to pee return.

"It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a television."

Tomorrow was their eleventh birthday. She was supposed to spend the day at Liza's. They were going to paint and eat nachos. Then she would come home and receive a pair of socks or gently used black pen from the Dursleys. To finish off the night she and Harry would sing Happy Birthday together sarcastically. Her plans were ruined.

When Uncle Vernon returned, he was grinning and holding a skinny parcel. "Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!"

Outside of the car it was freezing. Chilly globs of rain were pouring down her nose. Her Uncle was gesturing towards some large rock in the middle of the water. On top of it was a hut that didn't look to be very sound in foundation.

"Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"

A toothless man in a yellow rain coat sauntered up to them pointing at the rock shack and then at a little rowboat bobbing about with the current.

"I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!"

If the air outside the car was cold, the air on the boat was frigid. Selena's eyelashes felt as though they were going to fly off her face. Her glasses were speckled with rain and she couldn't see a thing. She'd be better off not wearing them. Selena unfortunately had wet herself a little because of the rocking of the boat.

The inside of the hut reeked of fish. The air was dank and wind seeped through gaps in the walls. There were only two rooms.

Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas. He tried to start a fire, to no avail with the empty chip bag.

"Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said gleefully. Uncle Vernon was in a very good mood, despite being cooped up on this damp, little rock.

Selena couldn't sleep. The waves were beating violently against the crag. Thunder was crackling in the distance. That made her nervous. They were in the most dangerous possible place to be during a thunderstorm, in the middle of a vast body of water.

She and Harry sat on the sandy floor watching the time go by on Dudley's wrist watch. Every passing minute they would turn to each other and say "Three minutes left, Two minutes left, One minute left."

Until they were counting the seconds in whispers, "Three… two… one…"

BOOM.

Selena and Harry jumped. Someone was knocking at the door.


	3. The Keeper of Keys

**AN: Two in one day-ish. Setting very high expectations. Okay well, enough useless introduction. Here's the next chapter.**

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does._

The Keeper of Keys

BOOM. The knock came again. Dudley jolted up, bleary eyed. "Where's the cannon?"

Uncle Vernon came racing into the room holding a rifle. _Oh my Lanta, he bought a gun_ , she realized. That's what had been in the package.

"Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you – I'm armed!"

There was a pause. Then –

CRASH.

The door swung clean off its hinges and smashed on the floor with a deafening boom. In the door way stood a giant man. He had an ample brown beard that hid the vast majority. His hair fell in dark curls well past his shoulders. He squeezed through the whole where the door used to be. He bent down and picked up the door from its place on the floor and positioned where it had been before. He turned to look at everyone.

"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey..." His voice was gruff but not without warmth.

He made his way to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear. "Budge up, yeh great lump."

Dudley squealed like a frightened mouse and ran to cower behind his mother.

"An here's Harry," He remarked smiling at her brother. "An there's Selena." Under the mass of his hair she could see that the skin around his eyes was crinkling in a happy manner.

"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant to Harry. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mum's eyes." He turned to Selena. "And yer just the opposite. Yeh look like yer mum, but yeh've got yer dad's eyes." Selena felt the urgent need to sit down. For the first time in her life things made sense. She looked like her mother. She had her father's eyes.

Uncle Vernon made a strange gurgling sound, "I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!"

"Ah shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," The giant grumbled. He reached from his place on the sofa and ripped the rifle from Uncle Vernon's grip. He bent it like it was a straw and flung it across the room.

Uncle Vernon made a funny noise, similar to the one Dudley had made earlier.

"Anyway," began the giant, turning to them, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here - I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right." He pulled a dented box from his coat pocket.

He handed it to Harry who then opened it. Inside was a chocolate frosted cake with Happy Birthday written in green icing. The twins looked up at the giant man with wide eyes. "Thank you," Selena breathlessly. At the same time, Harry had forgotten common curtesy. "Who are you?"

"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." He held out an enormous hand and the children both shook it. Selena's hand looked like that of a Barbie doll in his.

"What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind." He looked over at the crumpled chip bag in the fire place. He stood up from his seat and looked over the pitiful sight. In a matter of seconds a substantial fire flickered and filled the whole dreary hut with light and warmth.

He took out a pot and a package of sausages and began to cook them over the flames. The scent filled the cabin and was a welcome change from the seaweed odor. When he slipped the six juicy sausages from the kettle, Dudley perked up. He licked his chops. Uncle Vernon looked over at him concernedly. "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."

The giant man chuckled, "Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."

He gave half the sausages to Harry and half to her. Nothing had tasted as good. She hadn't eaten anything but half a bruised banana in hours. "Sir, I don't mean to be rude…but," She began.

"Who are you?" Harry finished.

"Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts - yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course.

"Er—no." Harry answered. Selena just shook her head.

Hagrid's small dark eyes widened in shock. "Sorry," Harry said quickly.

"Sorry ?" Hagrid barked, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who attempted to fade into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"

"All what?" Selena asked.

"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid's voice boomed through the hut like thunder. "Now wait jus' one second!"

He had stood up, then. The Dursleys slinked back against the wall in horror. "Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that these kids - this boy and this girl! - know nothin' abou' - about ANYTHING?"

"I know some things," Harry said. "I can do, you know, math and stuff." Selena hid her face behind her face. _Oh Harry, you idiot_. _That is not what he meant_.

"About our world, I mean. Your world. Your sister's world. My world. Yer parents' world."

"What world?" Harry asked meekly. Hagrid looked like he was about to beat Uncle Vernon with Aunt Petunia.

"Dursley!" He thundered. "But yeh must know about yer mom and dad," he said. "I mean, they're famous. You're famous."

"What? My - my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?" Harry stumbled out. Selena was too surprised to speak. She was having a hard time understanding everything that was going on. The Dursleys had been keeping secrets, big secrets.

"Yeh don' know... yeh don' know... " Hagrid muttered running his fingers through the course hair of his head. "Yeh don' know what yeh are?" he said finally.

Suddenly Uncle Vernon regained his ability to speak. "Stop!" He commanded. "Stop right there, Sir! I forbid you to tell them anything!"

Her Uncle's bravery was shocking. Most men would tremble at the meer sight of this giant man. This secret was dangerous, or at least in the eyes of Mr. Dursley it was.

Hagrid replied voice thick with ire, "You never told them? Never told them what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer them? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from them all these years?"

"Kept what from us?" Harry asked.

"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" Uncle Vernon shouted panicked. Aunt Petunia gasped putting her hand over her mouth.

"Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry - yer a wizard. Selena – yer a witch."

The whole was silent. Selena could hear the thump-thump-thumping of her heart and the blood rushing through her veins.

"I'm a what?" Harry gasped. She had to sit down. Hagrid took up the majority of the couch so she sat on the sandy floor, cross legged.

"A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, plopping back down on the sofa, which wheezed like "an' a thumpin' good 'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letters."

Selena looked at Harry before reading the envelope the giant had placed in hands. It was addressed: Ms. S Potter, The floor, Hut on the Rock, The sea.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Ms. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

Selena's eyes felt ready to pop out of her head. She removed her glass and wiped them on her shirt and then, reread it for good measure.

Then she read it again. And again. Until, Harry's voice ripped her from the shock, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"

"Yeah, what does that mean?" Selena echoed.

"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," Hagrid stated, clapping an enormous palm to his forehead forcefully enough to give any other man a minor concussion, and reached inside one of his coat pockets. He pulled an owl out of it – it was no stuffed toy either, but rather a living, breathing (At least she hoped it was still breathing) owl - a quill with a long, whispy feather, and a roll of parchment. He scrawled out a note that was upside down for Selena but she could still read it:

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

Given Harry and Selena their letters.

Taking them to buy their things tomorrow.

Weather's horrible. Hope you're well.

Hagrid

Hagrid strapped the note to the owl's beak and threw it out in the pouring rain. Selena opened her mouth to ask if that was safe, but decided against it.

"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but then Uncle Vernon, shuttering with fear but looking very angry, moved into the low light of the flickering flames.

"They're not going," he said.

Hagrid grunted.

"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop them," he said.

"A what?" Harry asked, curiously.

"A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."

"We swore when we took them in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," roared Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of them! Wizard indeed!"

"You knew?" Selena shouted suddenly, "This whole time you knew?"

"You knew we had magic?" Harry asked red faced.

"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that - that school - and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was - a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"

"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had twins, and of course I knew you two would be just the same, just as strange, just as - as - abnormal - and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"

Harry blanched, "Blown up!" He bellowed, "You told us they died in a car crash!"

"CAR CRASH!" thundered Hagrid, jumping from the sofa so angrily that the Dursleys jolted and cowered back in their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!"

"Harry's story?" Selena questioned.

Hagrid went paper pale, "I never expected this," he said, in a low voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, Selena, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh - but someone's gotta - yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."

"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh - mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it..."

He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with - with a person called - but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows-"

"Who?" Harry asked animatedly.

"Well - I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."

"Why not?" Selena wondered aloud

"Gulpin' gargoyles, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went... bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was..."

Hagrid swallowed nervously.

"Could you write it down?" Harry suggested.

"Nah - can't spell it. All right - Voldemort." Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this - this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too - some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches... terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him - an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway.

"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before... probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.

"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em... maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You two were just a year old. He came ter yer house an' - an'-"

Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose in it. It sounded very much like a trumpeting elephant to Selena.

"Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad - knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find - anyway...

"You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then - an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing - he tried to kill Harry, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it." He turned more towards Harry, "Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh - took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even - but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age - the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts - an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."

Just then, a memory occurred to her. She remembered a scream, a flash of hot green light, and a deep, malicious laugh.

Hagrid looked on at them sadly. "Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot..." He gestured at the Dursleys.

"Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. "Now, you listen here," he barked, "I accept there's something strange about you two, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured - and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdoes, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion - asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types - just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end-"

At those words seemed to get Hagrid going again. He leapt up from the sofa and reached into his coat pulling a dainty, pink umbrella from his pocket. He brandished it at Uncle Vernon, venomously. "I'm warning you, Dursley - I'm warning you - one more word..." He bellowed.

Uncle Vernon scuttled back in response. "That's better," Hagrid said lowering himself back onto the sofa. The poor thing couldn't handle his weight and slumped all the way to the ground.

"But what happened to Vol-, sorry - I mean, You-Know-Who?" Harry spoke up.

"Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see... he was gettin' more an' more powerful - why'd he go?

"Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back.

"Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on - I dunno what it was, no one does - but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."

"What about me?" Selena asked.

"It was luck that yeh survived. If You-Know-Who had chosen to kill yeh first, there's no tellin' if yeh'd've survived." This was all too much. Her head was pounding with information.

"Hagrid," Harry said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard."

Hagrid laughed a hearty laughed. "Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?" Suddenly, all the strange things that happened around them made sense. Everytime someone had angered her something… unfortunate happened to them. She thought of that time she had wanted bags and cut them much to short and uneven. The next morning, she woke up and her hair was the same as it had been the day before. She'd rationed it in her head that she had dreamt the whole thing.

Selena and Harry beamed at Hagrid. "See, Harry and Selena Potter, not a wizard—you just wait, you'll be famous at Hogwarts."

"Haven't I told you they're not going?" Uncle Vernon hissed. "They're going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish - spell books and wands and-"

"If they want ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop them," rumbled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's children goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. Their names' been down ever since they were born. They're off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. They'll be with youngsters of their own sort, fer a change, an' they'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had Albus Dumbled-"

"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH THEM MAGIC TRICKS!" shouted Uncle Vernon.

Finally, he had pushed too hard. Hagrid gripped his umbrella. "NEVER - " he roared, " - INSULT - ALBUS - DUMBLEDORE - IN - FRONT - OF - ME!"

He pointed the umbrella at Dudley wish a swoosh. The tip flashed a violet light. There was pop and a high-pitched squeal. Dudley was grabbing his fat rump and howling in pain. When he removed his hand, Selena could see the curly, pink tail of a pig.

The Dursleys all hustled into the other room.

"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said regretfully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do." He glanced at them sideways. "Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm - er - not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff - one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job."

"Why aren't you allowed to do magic?" Selena asked.

"Oh, well - I was at Hogwarts meself but I - er - got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."

"Why were you expelled?" asked Harry.

"It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."

He took off his big, black coat and threw it to harry who nearly fell over. Selena was ready for whatever adventure came next.


	4. Diagon Alley

**AN: I'm finally finished with school until August, so these things should be coming quicker. Maybe. Sorry it's been awhile. I was stressing over my AP Latin Exam but now that nightmare is over... so yeah. Hope you enjoy.**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. (People are always so snarky in these things. I don't really know if that's my style though. Sorry if you enjoy that.)_

Diagon Alley

Selena woke to the sound of a fist pounding on the door. The events of the past night rushed into her head. She and Harry had been visited by a giant called Hagrid and delivered the news that they had magical abilities. He had said something about

Selena picked up her glasses that had been discarded on the dusty ground and pushed them up her nose. The world appeared clearly once again. The hut was lit by the morning and the sky was no longer bleak and wet.

Harry roused beside her. "All right," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up." The duster that was draped over the both of them fell to the ground. Selena nearly fell off of the sofa with it. Hagrid's owl from the flew in through the window and began scratching at his overcoat.

Harry leapt over her and tried to wave the owl away. "Don't do that." The owl paid no mind. "Hagrid," he called flustered. "There's an owl."

"Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the couch.

"What?"

"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets." Selena rolled off of the sofa and helped Harry look through the giant, black coat.

She felt through the pockets, fingertips searching for something metallic or paper. Selena pulled out a handful of little coins.

"Give him five knuts," Hagrid said drowsily.

She counted out five coins and placed them in a little pouch attached to its leg. Then hastily the bird flew back out the window.

"Best be off, you two, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school." Hagrid announced stretching his large arms toward the roof.

"Um - Hagrid?" Harry began.

"Mm?" said Hagrid, pulling on his huge boots.

"We haven't got any money - and you heard Uncle Vernon last night... he won't pay for us to go and learn magic."

"Don't worry about that," Hagrid said standing up. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"

"But if their house was destroyed-" He argued.

"They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold - an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither."

"Wizards have banks?"

"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins."

"Goblins?" Selena's eyes felt like they were going to pop out of her head. Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding.

"Yeah - so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe - 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business. He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you - gettin' things from Gringotts - knows he can trust me, see."

Moments later, he asked slipping his coat back, "Got everythin'? Come on, then."

The twins followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The boat they came in was bobbing back and forth, rain water sloshing around in the bottom.

"How did you get here?" Harry asked. Selena looked around for a second boat.

"Flew," said Hagrid.

"Flew?"

"Yeah - but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh."

As they settled into the boat the image of Hagrid floating through the air popped in her hair. She bit down on her tongue to keep from laughing. "Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving them a nervous look. "If I was ter - er - speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?" Harry and Selena looked at each other, turned back around, and nodded quickly.

Hagrid pulled out his pink umbrella and tapped the bow twice and they began speeding towards the shore. "Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked. Selena had completely forgotten about that conversation.

"Spells - enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding the newspaper. "They say there's dragons guardin' the high security vaults. And then yeh gotta find yer way - Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."

"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page.

"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked.

"'Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice."

"But what does a Ministry of Magic do?"

"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."

"Why?"

"Why? Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone."

As they walked down the crowded streets, citizens stared at Hagrid. Not only was much larger than any human she had come across, but he was also pointing to everyday objects and marveling at them, "The things these muggles dream up."

When they reached the London train station, Hagrid asked them to pull out their letters. Selena read it aloud. She always found that the best way to remember things. It would be easier to not have to pull out the map constantly.

"Uniform

First-year students will require:

1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4\. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags

Course Books

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fun gi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

Other Equipment

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set of glass or crystal phials

1 telescope set

1 brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

Parents are reminded that first years are not allowed their own broomsticks."

Selena wondered if there were chores at Hogwarts. Why else would they need a broom?

"Can we buy all this in London?" Harry asked.

"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid.

Neither Selena or Harry had ever been to London. Hagrid seemed to know his way around but complained at near every turn. The trains were too slow. The seats were too small. Everything was too small. Even though the city was crowded they made their way simply. People parted like the Red Sea to let him pass by. Harry and Selena followed closely behind him.

"This is it," said Hagrid, stopping, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place." It was a small, inconsequential pub. Selena most likely wouldn't have paid it any mind if Hagrid didn't point it out. None of the people around them seemed to notice either.

The inside of it looked more like it was infamous than famous. It was dimly lit and women sat in corners sipping daiquiris and smoking pipes. The rugged bar tender was serving a little man in a top hat. All of the customers appeared to know Hagrid. They all waved and smiled. The bartender grabbed a fresh glass, "The usual, Hagrid?"

"Not today, Tom. I'm on official Hogwart's business." He replied.

"Good Lord," said Tom, staring at Harry, "is this - can this be -?"

A hush came over the Leaky Cauldron.

"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter... what an honor." He shook Harry's hand excitedly. "Oh, and Selena…" He trailed off shaking her hand. His eyes seemed to be brimming with tears. "Welcome back. Welcome back." He shook Harry's hand again.

Suddenly people amassed on them and they were shaking everyone's hands.

Finally, a young twitchy eyed man stepped forward.

"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Harry, Selena, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."

"P-P-Potter," stuttered Professor Quirrell, grabbing Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you." He shook Selena's next.

"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?" Selena asked.

"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though the though caused him pain. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He shuddered.

"Must get on - lots ter buy. Come on." Hagrid parted the sea of fans. "Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh - mind you, he's usually tremblin'."

"Is he always that nervous?" Harry question

"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience... They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag - never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject - now, where's me umbrella?"

VAMPIRES!

Hagrid was pointing at the bricks muttering, "Three up… two across." He tapped it with the tip of his frilly, pink umbrella. "Stand back." The middle of the brick he had pressed began to grow a hole. This hole expanded, bricks dissolving before her eyes, and formed an archway. It revealed a little cobblestone street that ended in shadows.

"Welcome," Hagrid announced, gesturing to the mysterious doorway, "to Diagon Alley."

The second they stepped beyond the bricks reappeared.

Cauldrons of all different makes—copper, brass, pewter, silver, self-stirring- glimmered in the sunlight.

"Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first."

There were so many things to look at. Colorful people surrounded colorful shops. There was an Apothecary and an Owl Emporium and a robe shop. Outside a shop with a broom on display many boys around the twin's age were marveling animatedly, ""Look the new Nimbus Two Thousand - fastest ever - "

Then they came upon it. An enormous white building. Standing next to its bronze doors was a little man in a red and gold uniform. "Yeah, that's a goblin," Hagrid whispered as they walked the marble steps. He had a leathery, angular face, and a pointed, cropped beard. At a second glance, she could see that he had unusually long fingers with dark nails reminiscent of claws. He bowed to them.

When they entered, they came upon a second set of doors, this time silver. Above them was engraved:

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.

"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.

A pair of goblins greeted them with a bow and they reached a marbled hall. It was vast and held about a hundred or so goblins going about their work. Hagrid lead them to the proper counter.

"Morning," said Hagrid to an available goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta the Potter's safe."

"You have this key, sir?"

"Got it here somewhere," Hagrid said rummaging through his coat pockets. He emptied its contents on the countertop in front of the goblin. "Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a little golden key.

"That seems to be in order." Replied the goblin.

"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid puffing his chest with importance. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."

The goblin read the letter carefully.

"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"

Another goblin appeared. He looked to be younger than many of the others with dark slicked back hair. Once Hagrid recollected all of his coat pocket items, they headed off with Griphook.

"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked.

"Can't tell yeh that," answered Hagrid. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."

The next room was a complete change of scenery. Gone were the delicate marble and glittering diamond chandeliers. In their place, was a dimly lit narrow passage way. In front of them were train tracks that went on a short distance before dropping. Griphook whistled and a small cart came trailing down the track to them. They climbed in and took off.

It reminded Selena of the rides that Liza talked about after coming home from an amusement park. It swerved and curved and dropped and rose. The cart appeared to be moving on its own because Griphook wasn't doing anything. Selena's eyes stung from the rushing wind. They passed over an underground lake surround by rock formations.

"I never know," Harry called out, but it was difficult to hear over the shuttering cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"

"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."

Selena cleared her throat and yelled, "A stalactite hangs from a cave. A stalagmite grows upwards from the ground." Harry smiled at her.

Soon after the cart came to a halt. Hagrid who looked very green and sick got out of the cart first and leaned against the nearest wall. Griphook began jingling the key in Vault 687. When it opened a misty, green smoke escaped. It mingled with the fresh air and revealed mounds upon mounds of coins. The gold ones were the most common, then silver, then bronze. "All yours," Announced Hagrid.

Harry and Selena looked at each other smiling wider than either of them had in a long time. All the times the Dursley's had complained about how much they cost, were now obsolete. A small fortune belonged to them. They began to gather up coins and place them in a bag Hagrid was holding. "The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"

"One speed only," said Griphook the ghost of a smirk on his lip. They plunged even deeper into the cavern. They air grew gradually colder. When they reached a ravine, Harry tried to look down only to be pulled away by Hagrid.

There was no key for Vault 713. Griphook simply tapped it with his long finger and it disappeared before their eyes. "Stand back," ordered Griphook. "If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," Griphook informed them.

"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked.

"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a sly smile.

Inside of the Vault was nearly empty save for a small, brown paper box in the center of it. Selena didn't know what she had expected but it has certainly been more important looking than the little package. The goblin handed it to Hagrid who in turn stuffed in inside of one of his coat pockets. "Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.

Outside of the bank she and her brother stood gawking at all the stores. Harry held in his hands more money than either of them had ever had the luxury of looking at. She reckoned that it was more than Dudley had. They had, inside their vault, thirty Uncle Vernon's worth of golden galleons.

"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, gesturing toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, you kids, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look sickly, so the twins entered Madam Malkin's shop alone. Selena felt horribly nervous.

Madam Malkin was a petite, kind looking woman dressed in mauve robes. "Hogwarts, dear?" she said, before either of them could speak. "Got the lot here - another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."

An angular faced boy with slicked platinum hair was being tended to in the back of the store. A second woman was pinning his black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him. And Selena on the stool next to Harry.

A third woman came and slipped a black robe over her head and began the pinning process. "Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"

"Yes," said Harry and Selena at the same time.

"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He spoke with a very bored tone. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."

Selena got the impression that this boy was rather proud of himself.

"Have either of you got your own broom?" the boy went on.

"No," said Harry. Selena didn't bother to answer.

"Play Quidditch at all?"

"No," Selena answered this time wondering what in the world quidditch could be.

"I do - Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"

"No," said Harry. She could tell he was beginning to feel stupid. She shared the feeling. For whatever reason, she didn't want to be under the harsh judgement of another magical child.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been - imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

"Oh absolutely," Selena agreed not at all knowing what he was talking about. Harry flashed her a surprised look.

"I say, look at that man!" said the boy jumping in his stool and nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at the children, pointing at three large ice creams to indicate he could not enter the shop.

"That's Hagrid," said Harry.

"He works at Hogwarts." Selena finished smiling brightly and waving out the window.

"Oh," said the boy sneering, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"

Suddenly Selena didn't like this boy very much. "He's the gamekeeper," said Harry distaste apparent in his voice.

"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage - lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."

"I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly.

"Do you?" said the boy. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"

"They're dead," Harry said shortly. Selena was shocked by how easily the words slipped from her brother's mouth. She could tell he was getting very annoyed with this boy. She felt the same.

"Oh, sorry," said the blonde, not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"

"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean." Harry answer.

"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"

Selena and Harry looked at each other. She mouthed to him, _what?_ He simply shrugged face contorted like he'd smelled something funny. Before either of them could reply the seamstress informed them that they were finished.

"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.

"I hope not," Selena hissed under her breath. Harry had caught the words and nodded at her in agreement.

Both of the children were silent as they ate their chocolatey treats. Selena was still shell-shocked from the encounter with the robe fitting boy.

"What's up?" asked Hagrid.

Before Selena could answer Harry did, ""Nothing," Harry lied. They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Both of the children felt leagues better after playing around with the magical writing supplies of the store. When they had left the shop, Harry turned to the giant, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"

"Blimey, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know - not knowin' about Quidditch!"

"Don't make me feel worse," said Harry bitterly. Selena informed Hagrid about the pale boy they had met in Madam Malkin's. She left out his insults toward Hagrid.

"- and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in-"

"Yer not from a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh were - he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles - look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"

"So, what is Quidditch?" Selena asked.

"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like - like soccer in the Muggle world - everyone follows Quidditch - played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls - sorta hard ter explain the rules."

"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?" Harry questioned.

"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but-"

"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Harry looking down.

"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."

"Vol-, sorry - You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"

"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid.

They went to buy their books at a shop called Flourish and Blotts. The inside was one of the most glorious sights she'd ever seen. There were shelves upon shelves of leather bound books. It put her primary school library to shame. She could only begin the fathom the content they contained. Hagrid walked over to Selena, who was looking for a school required book, with Harry in toe. "There ye are!" Hagrid exclaimed. "Found yer brother in the Curses and Counter Curses section."

"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley." Harry explained. Selena held out her right-hand fingers forming an okay sign.

"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."

Harry tried to convince Hagrid to get them each golden cauldron but he refused because the list specifically requested pewter. However, the rest of their potions making supplies was of the highest quality. Next they visited the Apothecary, which had a rather peculiar sent. While Hagrid bought their stuff, Harry and Selena touched random items and looked around the store at all the different, strange items they had for sale. Little silver unicorn horns were 21 galleons. She worried to herself, _what if that hurts the unicorns_?

"Just yer wand left - A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present."

Selena felt herself flush. "You don't have to-"

"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at - an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."

They remained inside Eeylops Owl Emporium for well on twenty minutes before Selena worked up the courage to ask Hagrid a question. Harry had chosen a beautiful, snowy owl. He kept thanking Hagrid every minute. Selena tugged on Hagrid's sleeve. He was still looking at owls for her. "Hagrid?" She asked shyly. "Could I- Could… um well, I really would like to have a cat."

Hagrid's face soured for a moment. Then it perked up again. "Oh, alright, if that's what yeh want." Her face light up like a christmas tree.

They paid for Harry's owl and headed down to Magical Menagerie. Inside were walls decorated with cages holding animals. They walked to the section that indicated cats. She looked around at all of the cats. Some were older but Selena felt herself drawn to the kittens. There was a little white cradle holding sleeping and playing kittens. Then she spotted her cat. It was small enough for her to hold in both hands with tan fur that darkened around the eyes and round blue eyes underneath copious lashes.

She picked it up and cradled it in her arms. The little animal was so adorable that her eyes felt glassy with tears. They went off to the counter and purchased her. When they left the shop, Selena couldn't stop mumbling her thanks. "Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect either of you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now - only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."

A wand… Selena had been waiting rather patiently for this part. The shop was small and shabby in appearance. The letters that read: Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. The window had a single impressive looking wand resting on a cushion.

The air inside had a different feeling than any other placed she'd been. Her skin rose with goose prickles and her hair stood on end. Hagrid sat down in the one chair in the tiny shop. "Good afternoon," A soft voice called from the back corner of the room. An elderly man walked until he was in front of them. His pale eyes pierced through the dim light. He must have been Ollivander.

"Hello," said Selena and Harry.

"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." He stated. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."

"And you," He turned to her, "Selena Potter. You're just the opposite. You have your father's eyes. He on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it - it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."

"And that's where..." He then touched Harry's scar with a spindly, pale finger. "I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do..."

Then his eyes focused on elsewhere. He had spotted Hagrid. "Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again... Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"

"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.

"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.

"Er - yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.

"But you don't use them?"

"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. He clutched at his pink umbrella and gave Selena a brief, nervous glance.

"Well now, let's do Mr. Potter first." He pulled a long tape ticked with silver from his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"

"Er - well, I'm right-handed," said Harry.

"Hold out your arm. That's it." He began to measure her brother. "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."

Mr. Ollivander went to the shelves. Whilst he did so the tape measure began taking Harry's information all by itself. "That will do. Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave."

He did. Seconds later, Ollivander snatched it from him.

"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try-" Harry had hardly lifted his wrist when the man had ripped it out of his hand.

Harry tried several wands. They began to pile up.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere - I wonder, now - yes, why not - unusual combination - holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."

Harry raised the wand above his head and it emitted red sparks. They popped like a firework in the air. Mr. Ollivander shrilly cried in response, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious..."

Harry narrowed his eyes, "Sorry, but why curious?"

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather - just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother - why, its brother gave you that scar. Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter... After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great."

Mr. Ollivander put Harry's wand back in the box. "Now, Miss Potter," He gestured for her to come with a spindly finger. He followed the same procedure he had with Harry. The magical tape took her measurements and Mr. Ollivander headed to the back of the store. "Hmm… birch, phoenix feather, eight and a half inches, good for charm work. Give it a wave."

The stick felt strange in her palm. She waved it. Boxes fell from the shelves. Ollivander yanked it from her grasp, "No, no, definitely not."

He went up to the shelf again. "Ah… yes," He muttered pulling a box from the scratched, wooden shelf. "This should be much better."

"Kukui, dragon heartstring, seven inches, very flexible." He finished.

From the moment that it touched her hand she felt a warmth that the other wand had not greeted her with. When she waved it something similar to what happened with Harry's happened with hers. Little blue sparks exploded in the air with a muted pop. Ollivader clapped his hands. "That's it!"

He gifted wrapped both their wands and they paid him fourteen galleons.

When they got back to the Leaky Cauldron it was near empty. Hagrid ordered them hamburgers for dinner. "You two alright? You're very silent." Selena hadn't even noticed that she hadn't been speaking.

She was going to let Harry answer first, but he remained silent for a while. "It's been such a great day. I don't really know what to say."

"Everyone thinks I'm special," Harry finally said. It was true. Everyone thought that Harry was special. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander... but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry - I mean, the night our parents died."

Hagrid smiled kindly, ""Don' you worry, Harry. You neither Selena. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts - I did - still do, 'smatter of fact."

After the meal, it was time to get back to home with the Dursleys. Hagrid helped them find the train and said goodbye. "Yer ticket fer Hogwarts, " he said. "First o' September - King's Cross - it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me... See yeh soon."

Selena watched out the window sadly. It was back to life with the Dursleys.


	5. The Journey From Platform 9 34

**AN: Sorry for not posting in a while. I was in Ireland and the trip did not allow for very much (if any) downtime. I really want to promise to be more consistent but I don't want to get any of you guy's hopes up too much. I'm just not one of those people that can handle a consistent uploading schedule.**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does._

The Journey from Platform Nine and Three Quarters

Selena spent the vast majority of the last month with Dursleys not with the Dursleys. At first she wasn't sure that she was allowed to leave, but then she realized that the family was afraid of Harry and her. When she discovered this, she spent her time at Liza's. Harry, who got bored of the Dursleys ignoring him had decided to spend time with them as well.

Two days before they were off to Hogwarts, the three children sat on her porch sucking at ice pops. They had explained to Liza that they would be attending a Scottish private school, an alma mater of their parents. "So, we won't see each other much this year?"

"No, probably not," Selena replied. "But we could probably write each other. Like once a month checkups or something."

"We probably won't come back for Christmas." Harry added.

Liza nodded, "I'll miss you two."

"We'll miss you too." Selena said sentimentally.

"Eh," Harry said waving his hand side to side.

Liza gave him a shove. They laughed. That night they stayed for dinner and watched Hook. Selena wondered if the Dursleys would ever let Dudley watch Hook. Probably not. Maybe if he whined enough.

The time that they didn't spend with Liza Garcia they spent up in their room. Selena skimmed the magic books and Harry played with his owl. Uncle Vernon had been furious about the cat, but he was too afraid to say anything. Harry named the snowy owl after a name he read in A History of Magic. Selena named her Siamese after the Egyptian goddess of cats, Bastet.

Harry had no fear of letting his owl out the window as she pleased. Selena was more reserved. She wanted her cat to be more of an indoor animal. Hedwig kept bringing back dead mice. What was worse is that Bastet would pick them up and drop them on her lap.

Inside their room, they had their luggage packed up and ready to go. The twins went downstairs and to the living room where the Dursleys sat around the television. Harry cleared his throat to alert them of their presence. Dudley squeaked and ran out of the room.

"Er - Uncle Vernon?"

Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening.

"Er – We need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to - to go to Hogwarts."

Uncle Vernon grunted again.

"Would it be all right if you gave us a lift?"

Once again, he grunted. Selena assumed that grunt was meant to mean yes. She didn't want to ask and provoke him any further.

"Thank you."

They were headed back up the stairs when Uncle Vernon finally spoke real words.

"Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?"

Neither of them answered. It was a rhetorical question and a stupid one at that.

"Where is this school, anyway?"

"I don't know," Harry answered. Selena had been wondering—and worrying a bit—about where it was. When Liza had asked, Selena simply said, "Not near here."

"We just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock," Harry read.

Their aunt and uncle gawked.

"Platform what?"

"Nine and three-quarters." Selena echoed Harry.

"Don't talk rubbish," said Uncle Vernon. "There is no platform nine and three-quarters."

"It's on the ticket."

"Barking," Uncle Vernon stated, "howling mad, the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother."

"Why are you going to London?" Harry asked, kindlier than she had ever heard him speak to Uncle Vernon.

"Taking Dudley to the hospital," growled Uncle Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings."

Harry had woken Selena while it was still dark out. He was too excited. She, however had stayed up late reading, so she went back to sleep until nine o'clock. Her sleep was interrupted because Harry was up and about making noise.

They arrived at Kings Cross at ten thirty. The children unpacked their stuff from the Dursley's car. Uncle Vernon dumped their luggage on carts, which was uncharacteristically thoughtful of him. He walked with them and paused at Platform Nine. He grinned at them in that rude way that was so very Uncle Vernon. "Well, there you are. Platform nine - platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?" He laughed meanly at his own joke. "Have a good term," He said grin plastered to his face growing and walked off.

She and Harry asked a passing guard for help but it was no use. The man insisted, rather rudely, that there was no train that day that left at eleven am. Selena's heart began to thump when she looked up at the large clock and realized that they only had ten minutes left.

Then a group of people passed by "- packed with Muggles, of course-"

Harry and Selena shared a knowing look. The woman who spoke seemed to be the mother of four boys each with flaming red hair. Each of them were pushing along a trunk very similar to the ones she and Harry had.

Harry followed them and Selena followed Harry. They stopped when the family did, close enough to hear what they had to say.

"Now, what's the platform number?" said the woman.

"Nine and three-quarters!" excitedly answer a little girl, also red-haired, who was holding her mother's hand, "Mom, can't I go..."

"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first." The one who appeared to be the oldest stepped forward. He ran at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Somewhere in the process a group of tourists walked in the way.

"Fred, you next," the matriarch announced.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"

"Sorry, George, dear."

"Only joking, I am Fred," He said as he rushed by following where his older brother had gone. A boy who looked very much like him, his twin, ran after him.

After he too had disappeared, Harry decided to interject. ""Excuse me," Harry said.

"Hello, dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too." She hadn't noticed Selena standing there.

She gestured to his remaining son. He was lanky with a long, freckled face.

"Yes," Harry said. "My sister and I—well the thing is—the thing is—I don't—we don't know how to— "

"How to get onto the platform?" She asked smiling. The woman finally noticed Selena. She inched her cart forwards trying not to let the cat crate jumble too much.

"Not to worry," the red headed woman said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron."

"Er—okay," Harry said finally. He faced the barrier and scrunched up his face nervously. People were rushing between each of the platforms busily. He pushed forward his trolley and began to run. And in an instant, he was gone.

Selena drummed nervously on the handle of her cart. She flashed a quick smile at the kind woman who had helped them. She smiled back. Selena tightened her grip on the handles and rushed at the barrier. The closer she got the more she felt her heart beat racing. She could have sworn that she could hear Bastet meowing in her cage. She shut her eyes tight. The brick was rushing at her. Closer… closer… closer… and there was no crash.

She opened her eyes and found a setting very similar to the one she had left, only brighter. Where the barrier had been, was an archway with a sign swinging in front of it reading "Platform 9 ¾".

"Harry!" She called. The messy haired boy turned around. She ran at him and wrapped him in a quick hug. "We did it!"

"Look!" He pointed up at a clock above the train. "It's eleven o'clock. We've got to go." The twins went on their way, off the platform to look for a carriage. One boy whined to his grandmother that he had lost a toad. Another boy, with dreadlocks, had a box that people were gathering around. Selena could see a hairy leg poking out. It must have been a tarantula.

She had wanted to stay and watch longer, but Harry had pressed on through the crowd and she needed to stick close to him. She didn't want to get separated from him. They finally found a compartment toward the end of the train. Harry put Hedwig in first but then struggled to get his luggage inside. She began shoving with him.

"Want a hand?" It was one of the twins from earlier.

"Yes, please," Harry said.

"Thank you," Selena added.

"Oi, Fred!" the older boy hollered, "C'mere and help!" With the twins aid stuffing their trunks into the compartment was much simpler.

Harry thanked them again pushing back his dark, unruly hair. The twins eye's went wide. "What's that?" He was pointing at Harry's forehead. They had noticed Harry's scar.

"Blimey," Said the other. "Are you— "

"He is," The first turned to Harry. "Aren't you?"

"What?" asked Harry.

"Harry Potter," They answered simultaneously.

"Oh him," said Harry. Selena looked at him and laughed lightly. "I mean, yes, I am."

"And you must be Selena," One said. She nodded.

Harry was the color of a cherry tomato. Selena must have matched him. A voice echoed through the halls of the train. "Fred? George? Are you there?"

"Coming mum," They chorused. The twins looked at the pair and smiled brightly before leaving. Harry sat next to the window and she sat down across from him. From where they sat they had a good eye on the ginger family. They could hear them as well.

The mother pulled out a small handkerchief and walked towards her youngest son. "Ron, you've got something on your nose."

He jerked away from her. She managed to get a hold of him and pulled him towards the cloth. Selena wished she had a mother to wipe the dirt from her nose. "Mom—geroff." He wiggled out of her grasp.

"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins.

"Shut up," Ron responded.

"Where's Percy?" asked their mother.

"He's coming now." The oldest brother came into sight. He had changed into the school uniform and was sporting a shiny badge on his chest. At closer inspection Selena noticed the letter P on it.

"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves-"

"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" one of the twins said, feigning surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."

"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin.

"Once-"

"Or twice-"

"A minute-"

"All summer-"

"Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect, his cheeks flushing.

"How come he gets new robes anyway?"

"Because he's a prefect," The mother answered smiling sweetly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term - send me an owl when you get there." She kissed him quickly on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the fiery haired twins. "Now, you two - this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've - you've blown up a toilet or-"

"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."

"Great idea though, thanks, Mom."

"It's not funny. And look after Ron."

"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."

"Shut up," Ron said. He was nearly the same height as his older brothers.

"Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?" One of the twins brought up. Harry and Selena looked at each other and moved out of the window's visibility.

"They're talking about us," He whisper shouted.

"They're talking about you," She whisper shouted back.

"You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?"

"Who?"

"Harry Potter!"

Selena was right.

"Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom, eh please..." It was the young girl.

"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?"

"We helped him and his sister with their luggage. Saw his scar—it's really there like a lightning bolt! Then we asked him."

Poor dears - no wonder they was alone, I wondered. They were ever so polite when they asked how to get onto the platform."

"Do you think they remember what You-Know-Who looks like?"

At that question, her face shifted. Her expression became stern, "I forbid you to ask them, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though they need reminding of that on their first day at school."

"Alright, keep your hair on," He said motioning with his hands for her to take it down a level.

A whistle sounded indicating the train was to take off and the boys hurried up onto the train. The sister began to cry.

"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls."

"We'll send you a Hogwarts' toilet seat."

"George!"

"Only joking, Mum."

The train began to move. Ginny ran after it, laughing, tears still falling down her face. After a little distance, she stopped and began waving.

Selena's heart lurched with excitement. She had never been on a train.

Moments later the compartment door slid open. It was Ron the youngest boy of the family. He pointed to the seat beside Harry, "Is anyone else sitting there? Everywhere else is full."

Harry shook his head no. He sat down and avoided eye contact. Selena could see that he still had that dirt on his nose.

"Hey Ron," The twins had returned. "Listen, we're going down the middle of the train - Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there." Selena's ears perked. Tarantula… She longed to get up and see, but she figured she shouldn't leave Harry alone.

"Right," Ron mumbled.

"Harry, Selena," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."

"Bye," All three children said before the twins slid the door closed.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" blurted out Ron.

Harry nodded without a word.

"And you're his sister?"

It was Selena's turn to nod.

"And you—" He pointed at Harry's forehead. "You've got the- you know."

Harry lifted up his bangs to show him. As plain as the day they could see his lightning scar. Selena looked at Ron. His mouth was hanging open.

"So that's where You- Know- Who-?"

"Yes, but I can't remember anything." Selena thought about it for a moment and realized she only remembered two things a bright green light and a man with wild eyes.

"Nothing?" Ron asked excitedly.

"Well - I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else."


	6. The Train Ride

**AN: Leave it to me to not update for several months only once again return and update at 3:00 in the morning lol. Most anyone who reads this probably has forgotten about it. I know I would've. Regardless, I hope you enjoy and I'll try to be better at updates.**

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling does._

The Train Ride

"Oh wow," Ron said in awe. He stared at Harry, mouth gaping and an awkward silence filled the compartment. After noticing that he had reacted star struck and gawked at Harry for an unhealthy amount of time, he gazed out the window. Selena wondered if he had even noticed her sitting there really.

"Are all your family wizards?" Harry asked Ron. Selena had been too stunned by her brother's fame to say anything.

"Er—yes, I think so," answered Ron. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him." _That's probably got more to do with him being an accountant,_ she thought to herself but she didn't dare say it aloud. She'd always thought that there was no job more terribly boring than an accountant, except maybe Uncle Vernon's profession…

It was likely that Ron's family was similar to the ones the boy in the robe shop was talking about. They could be an old wizarding family of sorts.

"So you must know loads of magic already," Harry commented.

Ron dodged this question by asking one of his own, "I heard you went to live with muggles. What are they like?"

"Specifics or in general?" Selena asked. There were muggles like the Dursleys, intolerant and perturbed by anything out of the ordinary. Then, there were muggles like the Garcias, excepting and unconventional (compared to what she had seen).

"The ones we live with are horrible, but not all of them. Selena's friend is nice enough. I wish we'd grown up with three wizard brothers." She couldn't help but agree with what Harry had said. It would have been nice to live with other magic beings.

"Five," Ron corrected looking rather glum. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left - Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat." Selena could relate and she knew Harry could too. Neither of them ever got anything new. It was all Dudley's old stuff. Even, reluctantly, some of her Aunt Petunia's old clothes.

Ron put a hand inside his jacket and pulled out a fat, grey rat. "His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff - I mean, I got Scabbers instead." Ron's ears tinged pink at his slip up. In Selena's eyes there was nothing wrong with not being able to afford something. The Garcia's often struggled to make ends meet. They pushed it sending Liza to private school. Mrs. Garcia was an artist and Mr. Garcia worked at a hotel. Selena only knew about their money struggles because Liza once told her when it was getting bad.

She and Harry tried to cheer Ron up by telling him about how they never got anything from the Dursleys. "I had to wear all of my cousin's old clothes." Harry said.

"So did I," Selena added.

"I got a coat hanger for Christmas," said Harry.

"I got a sock. A single sock." said Selena.

The two siblings went back and forth with this for a while. This seemed to cheer Ron up.

"... and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort-" Harry stopped in his tracks. And Ron gaped. Then he gasped.

"What?" asked Harry. Selena narrowed her eyes at him. She remembered earlier when Hagrid couldn't even bare to speak the name. Harry had to beg him to tell them.

"You said You-Know-Who's name!" Ron exclaimed. "I'd have thought you of all people…"

"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name. I just didn't know that it was something you weren't supposed to do. I don't know anything. See I'll probably be worst in class." Harry voiced concerns. He had never told her about them but she had had the same worries herself, but she figured that even she could catch up if she read enough. Harry wasn't as much of a reader.

Ron soothed his apprehension, ""You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough."

For a time, the children stopped talking they simply looked out at the rolling green hills with roaming sheep and cattle. She could imagine the scene as a picture in one of Liza's scrapbooks. There was a clattering coming down the hallway and a smiling face peeked around a trolley at them. "Anything off the trolley dears?"

Harry pratically jumped from his seat. Ron once again looked embarrassed and muttered something about having a sandwich. Harry turned around to Selena, "What do you want?"

"I don't know Harry, something breakfast-like." They hadn't eaten breakfast. Harry went out into the corridor.

She and Ron sat there in silence each staring at the door waiting for a Harry to return. He took much longer than she expected. When he returned, he was cradling a pile of goodies in his arms. He poured them out on the nearest seat and announced, "Anyone hungry?"

He picked up a particularly large pasty and took a bite out of it. Selena motioned at him with her hands for him to give her some. He handed her one as well. Ron took out a package of a rather soggy looking sandwich. He sighed loudly, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef…"

"Swap you for one of these," Harry offered brandishing a pasty, "Go on—"

Ron waved him off, "You don't want this, trust me. She hasn't got much time, what with five of us."

"Here just have a pasty," Ron took one quick look at his sandwich and tossed it on the seat beside him with a look of disgust. He took the pasty and hastily unwrapped it.

Selena handed him a bright green rope like candy that looked an awful lot like a twizzler, "Here have one of these." He took it quickly and placed it directly next to him for safe keeping. The children proceeded to dig into the candy. Selena looked over at Harry. He seemed happier than she'd ever seen him.

"What are these?" He held up a golden pentagonal box to Ron. The front of the package said 'Chocolate Frogs'. "There not actually frogs?" Nothing would really surprise Selena at this point, but if they were real frogs, she would not be eating them.

"No," Ron answered. "But see what the card is. I'm missing an Agrippa."

"What?" Harry asked.

"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know. Chocolate Frogs have cards inside of them, you know, to collect. Famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred but I don't have Agrippa or Ptolemy."

"Ptolemy was a wizard?" Selena asked shocked. She supposed it made sense. Ron simply nodded taking a bite of a pasty.

Harry opened his Chocolate Frog box and pulled out the card. "So this is Dumbledore!" He said excitedly. He handed the card to Selena. The man was elderly with long silvery hair and a beard, wearing half-moon glasses. He had a long nose and some sort of twinkle in his eyes. After getting a good look at the card, Selena handed it back to Harry.

"Don't tell me you've never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a Chocolate Frog? I might get Agrippa," Harry handed him a box quickly, "Thanks."

Harry read aloud off the back of the card, "Albus Dumbledore, currently Headmaster of Hogwarts, considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling." He read the last part with a bit of confusion. Then his face lit up with surprise, "He's gone!" Harry flashed the card at her.

"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," Ron said nonchalantly. "He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her... do you want it? You can start collecting."

Harry looked at the card Ron had given him and handed it to his sister. "Here, Selena, you take this one." Ron was eyeing the pile. "Help yourself," He told him. "But in, you know the Muggle World people just stay put in photos."

"Do they? What they don't move at all?" Ron's voice was filled with amazement. "Weird."

Harry split all of the Chocolate Frog cards that Ron didn't want with Selena. After digging through the pile of candy Harry pulled out a box titled Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. "You've got to be careful with those," Ron warned. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor - you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a bogey-flavored one once."

Ron picked out a bright green bean and took a bite, "Bleaaargh, see it's sprouts."

The children each grabbed a pile of beans and took turns tasting them. Selena had some delicious ones like watermelon and tuttifruitie, but she also had disgusting ones like soap, vomit, and rotten egg which she had to spit out into Ron's paper sandwich bag.

A knock at the compartment door ended their bean tasting. A teary-eyed boy with a round face came in. "Sorry, have you seen a toad?" When the group shook their heads side to side he cried out, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"I'm sure he'll turn up." Harry said.

"Do you want some help?" offered Selena who wanted to get up to stretch her legs and did not want to eat another bean, good or otherwise.

The boy sniffled and nodded, "Would you? I've already got some others helping, but the more the merrier."

"Sure." She answered. "I'll be back soon, Harry." Her brother said nothing but smiled up at her. "So," she turned to the boy. "What's your name?"

"Oh, um, I'm Neville," He answered in stammers.

She stretched her hand out for him to shake, "I'm Selena," He grabbed it rather timidly. "So, should I just walk down the hall and ask compartments?"

"Sure, I've gone that way, so maybe you could go this way?" He pointed down the aisle. Selena nodded and followed down the corridor.

She knocked on the nearest compartment door and slid it open seconds later. She was met with several annoyed stares from people much older than her. She opened her mouth a few times to speak but the words wouldn't come out. "Have any of you seen a toad?"

"A toad?" One girl spoke. Her tone was laced with judgement.

"Yes, it's like a frog but not a frog." She explained.

"I know what a toad is. It's not here now scram kid!" The girl ordered nostrils flaring. Selena hurried out of the compartment. She asked a few more compartments with much better results but still none had seen Trevor the toad.

She decided that her attempts were futile and she should just find her way back to Harry and Ron. A few doors down from their compartment a bushy-haired girl—who was already wearing her robes—stopped her to ask about the toad, "Have you seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one."

"No and neither has anyone down that way for a while." Selena informed her so that she didn't waste her time.

"Oh, so you're looking too. I'm Hermione Granger," She said extending her hand.

"I'm Selena Potter," She replied.

"Really! I just met your brother. He says he hadn't read any of the material over the summer. I suspect you haven't either. I did. I've tried to memorize all that I can." Hermione rambled.

"I didn't really have the time, with all the excitement and all."

"That's understandable, I suppose. You should really get changed. I suspect we'll be arriving soon."

"Oh, thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I think I'll be heading back to my compartment now." Selena hurried off a hint of a blush on her cheeks. Since when did she feel so awkward around strangers? First barely talking around Ron and now dodging a conversation with Hermione Granger. Come to think of it she hadn't really interacted with anyone other than Harry and Liza—and to a lesser extent the Dursleys.

Selena slid the door open to find a rather unexpected sight. Three boys were standing in their compartment. The two large ones she did not recognize but the third she did. It was the boy from Madam Malkin's. The three turned around and faced her. "You must be the sister." Robe shop boy said.

"Yes," She muttered and slipped past them to sit down next to Harry.

"Well, this is Crabbe and Goyle," He gestured to the beefy boys "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." Ron coughed into his hand attempting and failing to hide a snicker. Draco blinked at him a slight smirk falling on his lips. "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." Selena's nosed crinkled in disgust at his words. She crossed her arms across her chest.

He turned his attention toward Harry, "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

He held out his hand for Harry to take. After a few moments of silence Harry said, "I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks."

Draco seemed taken aback a slight flush on his pale cheek. Selena looked at the boy darkly, "You're not wanted here. Get out."

"I'd be careful if I were you two," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."

All three stood up. "Say that again," Ron growled.

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered.

"Unless you get out now," said Harry rising a bit taller. Selena stood near him not sure of what to do. The goons standing on each side of Draco were much bigger than Harry and Ron.

"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." Goyle reached for the chocolate frogs sitting next to Ron. In response, he dove to the seat to prevent the larger boy from stealing his food. Before Goyle could lay a finger on Ron or the candy, he pulled away and winced waving his hand around wildly. He had a rat—Scabbers to be precise—dangling from the knuckle of his index finger. Crabbe and Malfoy backed away until they hit the sliding door. Goyle continued to thrash his hand around until the fat rat hit the window. Selena gasped in horror at the sound of his soft body hitting the glass. At this the three boys fled the room.

Not only a second later Hermione Granger came in. "Since when is our compartment Grand Central Station?" Selena lamented.

Hermione's jaw dropped at the sight of the wreckage and Ron picking up Scabbers by the tail. "What is going on here?"

"I think he's been knocked out," Ron said examining the rat.

"Will he be alright?" Selena asked trying not to sound too concerned.

"No—wait I don't believe it! He's gone back to sleep." Ron placed the plump creature on his seat. "You've met Malfoy before?"

Harry retold the details of their meeting.

"I've heard of his family," Ron said darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He turned towards Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"

"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"

"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scathingly. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"

"All right - I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," Hermione complained in a stuffy tone. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"

Once the other girl left, Selena pulled off her jumper and buttoned up her oxford over her undershirt. Then she slipped on her black robe. Harry and Ron did the same. The ginger-haired boy's was a little short on him, stopping well above his ankles.

A announcement echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." Selena looked around for a speaker before realizing that they didn't need one because magic existed.

The children looked at each other with excitement and nervousness etched upon their faces. Selena felt little butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. Her head felt airy. Ron and Harry gathered up the last bits of candy and crammed them in their robe pockets.

She followed Harry closely as they joined the crowd. The air was cold and the robes were not nearly as warm and comfortable as her jumper. Liza had given it to her one year for Christmas. She bought it for Selena at a ski lodge. It was one of her most treasured possessions.

In the distance Selena could see fluttering lamp light bounding closer and closer. "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?" A gruff voice, that could only belong to Hagrid, boomed over the crowd. "Selena?"

The giant man smiled down at the two of them. "C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

The children all followed him down a narrow decline. Selena felt mildly fearful as it was surrounded by dark unfamiliar woods. Everyone was silent. She found Neville's toad on the ground once before he went on to lose it another three times.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid hollered, face peering over his shoulder from behind his long, wiry hair and beard, "jus' round this bend here."

There was a loud howl sometime after that. Selena wasn't sure if it was a wolf or just someone messing around. Soon her line of sight widened to reveal a vast castle seated atop a dark lake. Moonlight lit up the windows and twinkled across the lake's occasional ripples.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called out. Harry and Ron sat down in a boat. Before Selena could do anything, Hermione and Neville sat down.

Harry looked at Selena with furrowed brows. He opened his mouth to speak, but Selena did before he could, "It's okay. I'll just ride with someone else." He nodded mouth etched in a thin line, a guilty look upon his face.

Selena took a deep breath before sitting herself in the nearest boat. Two girls followed her in. One was blonde with pigtails and the other had a short dark bob. Seconds later a boy grabbed the rim of the boat and swung himself in. They all jumped back slightly. The light-haired girl looked frighten whilst the darker one just looked annoyed. "Hello Ladies," He said waggling his eyebrows. The girl with the bob sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Everyone in?" Hagrid called, "Right then - FORWARD!"

The boats moved without any rowing or motors. Everyone just stared up at the castle in awe. "Head's down!" Hagrid shouted in warning. The boats reached a cliff. They floated through a curtain of ivy. They went through a short, dark tunnel which seemed to go underneath the castle. It reminded Selena of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory—except not terrifying. The dinghies beached on some gravel and they all climbed out from the boats.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" Hagrid, who was looking through all the boats for lost possessions, called out.

"Trevor!" cried Neville delighted, holding out his hands to accept the amphibian. They traversed another trail this time with an incline. After walking on so many bumpy surfaces, Selena felt relief walking on the grass wet with night-time dew.

The group of them stopped at the top of three stone step where they stood in front of a large oak door. "Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" Hagrid remarked with a laugh. He raised up his fist and knocked three times on the Hogwarts door.


	7. The Sorting Hat

**AN: Ah look, I actually updated. I wonder if I'll get consistent with this (probably not); regardless, I hope you enjoy.**

The Sorting Hat

In a matter of moments, the door swung open to reveal a woman adorned in green robes. She had a harsh face made harsher by her dark hair pulled in a tight bun. It occurred to Selena that this woman had a strict demeanor. "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She pulled the door open wider to reveal the enormous entrance hall. The walls were made of stone and lined with torches lighting the way. Selena could hear choruses of voices coming from a nearby room. Professor McGonagall led them all into a small room. She looked around at the faces of the others. There was a mutual nervousness among them. Harry had a look plastered on his face similar to the one he wore whenever he said something he regretted.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall began. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Professor McGonagall's gaze seemed to scrutinize everyone in the room. Selena fluffed her hair a little and straightened her glasses. She could see Harry flattening his hair out. Noticing her silly it seemed to her for him to do so, she realized she must have looked silly as well.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall leaving the room. "Please wait quietly."

Selena slipped past a few students to properly rejoin Ron and Harry. Her brother gave her a quick reassuring smile. "How exactly do they sort us into houses?" Harry asked.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking." Ron's answer did nothing to settle her beating heart. The notion of a test made her pulse race faster than ever before. The thought of an examination before the whole school was mortifying. Even if she embarrassed herself the masses would probably forget but she never would and she did not want to deal with that.

"Are you sure about a te—" Selena started to ask, but she broke off when something scared most of the room. She jumped a little and a quiet gasp escaped her lips. A group of floating, translucent phased through the window—ghosts? They had to be ghosts for what else could they be. Their gazes briefly fell on the students before shifting to something else. Some seemed to be arguing. A plump, bald man dressed in robes cinched at the waist—or where a waist should've been—by a rope, was speaking: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance—"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost—I say, what are you all doing here?" The ghost had a ruffled collar, tights, and boots with little heels. His attire reminded Selena of Shakespearean outfits. She remembered seeing something similar in Liza's pictures from the playing of A Midsummer's Night Dream put on by her cousin's school.

There was a silence. None of the students wanted to answer. "New students!" said the one called Friar smiling down at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?" Selena nodded so lightly that she didn't think her head even moved.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."

"Move along now," Mcgonall called out in a sharp tone. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." The ghosts simply left and floated through yet another wall. The students started to queue up. Selena followed Harry and stood behind him. Inside there were four long tables seating the rest of the students. Above them lit candles twinkled, suspended in the air. They walked past these tables up to one that held what Selena assumed were teachers.

The ceiling above was an inky night sky dotted with stars. Selena tried to find any constellations. It was futile as she did not know her astronomy very well. Hermione whispered to no one in particular, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."

Professor McGonagall past by with a stool and placed it in front of them. She then placed a worn, pointed hat on it. Selena stared at it analyzing all of the folds. If she looked closely she could see what looked to be a face in the ratty, dirty leather. Suddenly, a fold near the brim of it opened up, and Selena jumped slightly. And then it did what she least expected and begun to sing, "Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, if you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

The whole room burst into wild applause. Selena lightly tapped her palms together. She didn't find the song to be worthy of such enthusiasm but she supposed it made sense since it was a hat and hats aren't really supposed to be capable of anything of the sort. "So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."

She felt minor amounts of relief, until she thought about how a hat was going to judge her character. It would have to read her mind. She didn't know why but the thought of something poking around up there made her an unearthly of kind of uncomfortable.

Her stomach felt agitated. The slightest movement turned her insides and made her feel as though the pasties and candies would make a reappearance. Professor McGonagall pulled her from her anxious, nauseous thoughts, "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

The girl with the pigtails from her boat stepped out from the crowd. She placed the hat on her head and it fell floppily over her eyes. There was only a few moments of silence before the hat cried out, "Hufflepuff!" The right most tabled cheered. Hannah placed the hat back on the stool and joined her housemates.

"Bones, Susan!" The hat took a little longer on her.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat called for the second time, and Susan scurried off to the table.

"Boot, Terry!" It was the boy from her boat—the one that clumsily jumped in and waggled his eyebrows.

"RAVENCLAW!" The table from the middle left cheered. A few students got up and shook Terry's hand.

Selena was growing even more anxious. It was evident that it was going alphabetically and it could take quite some time to reach Potter. "Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw, but "Brown, Lavender" was the first to join Gryffindor, and the table on the far left erupted with applause and cheers; Fred and George were whistling and laughing. "Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. She was an enormous girl with a mean face. Selena looked at the table she sat down at. It appeared to her that all the Slytherin's seemed to have a similar kind of face. It was probably just her imagination. Ron's words must've influenced her thinking.

"Finnigan, Seamus," I took the hat nearly a whole minute to decide where he belonged. In the end, he was sorted into Gryffindor.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Hermione did not attempt to hide her enthusiasm as speed walked to the stool and hastily placed the hat on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. She smiled widely revealing her bucked front teeth. Ron groaned.

Neville took a tumble on his way to the stool. Selena winced and inwardly prayed she would not suffer the same fate. She had a tendency to get clumsy when nervous. After it shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" Neville took off still wearing it. He ran back, pink faced, to the chorus of laughter returned it to its place.

"Malfoy, Draco," He walked to the stool looking much too pleased with himself. The hat hardly so much as touched his platinum hair before it called out, "SLYTHERIN!" He joined his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, at the middle right table.

Many names passed and Selena's nerves grew more intense as the alphabet and crowd dwindled. "Parkinson, Pansy," The final person to accompany her on the boat was sorted into Slytherin.

"Potter, Harry," Selena nearly jumped at the sound of his name. She looked at him and swallowed. She could hear rampant, excited whispering. She hoped it didn't get to Harry too much.

Suddenly, Selena realized that she and Harry could be separated. Now her nerves were going wild. She didn't know how to feel about this possibility. Harry sat with the hat on his head. She couldn't see his eyes but she could see him gripping the stool. Selena then noticed that she had been stabbing her palms with her fingernails. "GRYFFINDOR!"

The response was unreal. Nearly all of the table leapt up from their seats. Percy Weasley shook Harry's hand. The Weasley twins were cheering, "WE GOT POTTER! WE GOT POTTER!"

When the noise died out McGonagall called her name, "Potter, Selena," She tried to take a deep breath but only got a sad shell of one. She looked back at Harry sitting down at his table before heading to the stool. The rim of the hat covered her eyes shielding them from the curious ones of the student body. "Hmmm… Interesting," it murmured. "Very interesting… much like your brother but also… not… better be RAVENCLAW!" A shock ran through her body. There were loud cheers as she took the hat off. Not as loud as Harry's but the loudest cheers Ravenclaw had offered. Carefully she placed it back on the stool and then quickly made her way to the table. She sat in the quickest open spot she could find which happened to be between Terry and another boy their age called Anthony.

There were a few more sorted after her. A girl called Lisa was sorted into Ravenclaw as well and sat across from her. Ron was sorted into Gryffindor which Selena was very happy about. He and Harry seemed to get on so well. The last boy called Blaise Zabini, who Selena found rather attractive, was sorted into Slytherin. Soon after Dumbledore stood with outstretched arms and began to speak, "Welcome, welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

Selena found herself grinning. Lisa Turpin looked at her from across the table quizzically. She simply shrugged in response. "Ah yes," An older Ravenclaw boy sitting next to Terry said, "Dumbledore ever the genius that man, but still rather odd."

"I'm David Boot, Terry's brother," He pat his brother on the back. "I'm a prefect this year. If any of you need anything don't be afraid to ask."

Selena simply nodded. Whilst trying to get the words to form in her mouth she noticed that the platters had filled up with food. She looked around with wonder at the assortment. There were array of meats and potatoes and in front of her were a stack of tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and many of the other foods she had had at Liza's. Perhaps the magic knew what people liked. She put a burrito, Yorkshire pudding, and some buttered brown bread on her own plate.

Terry picked up a gordita off of a platter, "What's this?" He asked lifting it up to his eyeline poking at it.

"You've never had a gordita before?" Selena asked still chewy a bit of burrito.

The boy shook his head, "You have?" he said incredulously. "What's in it?"

"Meat and cheese and corn." She explained.

"I'm afraid Terry's not much of an adventurous eater. Anything more complicated than buttered pasta is eclectic to his pallet." David explained.

"Says the guy who survives on jammie dodgers and digestives." His brother retorted.

They all ate with minimal chatter. Selena focused mainly on her food. After finishing what was on her plate she grabbed a small chicken taco. Terry and his brother bantered. Lisa Turpin kept looking at her with wide eyes and then looking back at her food. Anthony Goldstein occasionally asked a few questions about curriculum. When the food diminished, the platters changed to have desserts. Selena grabbed a couple brownies with confectioners' sugar and some chilled berries for dessert.

David Boot by request of Anthony told them about all the teachers. There was Hagrid who Selena already knew fairly well. The man with the greasy hair and hooked nose was Professor Snape who taught potions. Professor McGonagall taught transfiguration. Professor Quirrel, who was wearing a purple Turban taught defense against the dark arts. Professor Flitwick was the head of their house and taught charms. The head of Hufflepuff was the aptly named professor Sprout who taught Herbology. There were a few more but Selena didn't particularly remember their names.

Soon enough the desserts disappeared. Dumbledore rose once more. "Ahem - just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." His eyes shifted to the Gryffindor table and there was not a doubt in Selena's mind that the comment was aimed at the Weasley twins. "I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." Selena kept that filed away in the corner of her mind she called _Stupid Things that Harry Could Get in Trouble With_.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore announced excitedly. The other teacher's mouths pressed into faux smiles. He raised his wand, gave it a shake, and gold ribbon sprung from the end. It wove through the air forming words- or rather lyrics. "Everyone pick their favorite tune," declared Dumbledore, "and off we go!"

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling

With some interesting stuff,

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot, just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot."

Selena tried to find a tune but it was very difficult to find a proper one. She finally decided to go with something akin to "The Wheels on the Bus". She finished at the same time as most, but some were still singing. Lisa Turpin looked at her again, "You have a good voice." She said.

"Thanks," Selena smiled awkwardly.

"My mum's an Opera singer."

The first thing, for a reason Selena could comprehend, that came to her mind was mine's dead. "Oh cool," She simply said.

The song finally finished after the Weasley twins ended their funeral march. They sung the final word until they ran out of air. Selena couldn't help but smile. Those boys were such good fun. Everyone clapped, Dumbledore most enthusiastically of them all. "Ah, music," he hummed, wiping at his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

The first year students formed a line behind David and some other girl. Selena's legs felt like mush. Terry Boot fell into step with her. "So, I've been meaning to ask you, what's it like being related to Harry Potter?"

"I don't know," Selena said exasperated, "What's it like being related to David Boot?"

Terry laughed, "Annoying."

Outside the Great Hall they walked past a great marble staircase. They walked a while down a hallway and then up a smaller marble stair case. "Mind the stairs, they have a tendency to move," David remarked. Selena noticed that the subjects inside paintings were moving and whispering. After going up a few floors they reached a giant bronze door. Next to it was a statue of a woman. The caption revealed it to be Rowena Ravenclaw. There was a knocker in the shape of an eagle. David picked it up and tapped it against the door a few times.

Suddenly the eagle's beak began to move, "Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it you die. What is it?" She didn't know what she expected an eagle to sound like, but that wasn't it. It had a rather deep, slow voice.

David did not hesitate to answer, "Nothing," he turned to the crowd. "Bit of an easy one really." The door swung open and they all went inside. The room was circular with a dome shaped ceiling. The inside of it had a good amount of window with beautiful, royal blue curtains trimmed with bronze.

"Alright, girls dormitories to the left, boys to the right." Selena followed the other girls. They went up a staircase. There were two empty rooms. Selena and the other girls things were already there. She shared her room with Lisa Turpin, Padma Patil, Sue Li, and Mandy Brocklehurst. Her bed was between Mandy and Padma's.

The girls all sat on her bed and played with Bastet until they were all taken over by yawns. The girls all carried out their night routines and went to sleep. Selena changed into her pajamas and laid in bed little kitten in her arms. "Goodnight Harry," She whispered when she was certain every other girl had fallen asleep. In her head she imagined him saying goodnight to her as well. She closed her eyes and melted into a deep sleep.


End file.
